Reports continue to link Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney with a move away from Old Trafford in the coming weeks.
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Jose Mourinho’s comments on Tuesday about not ruling out a potential move to China for United’s all-time leading goalscorer hardly quelled those rumors.
With Rooney’s options wide-ranging, plenty of reports state he is heading to China, while others say he wants to remain at United. Other reports state he fancies a move to another Premier League team and further rumors suggest he could be on his way to Major League Soccer.
The bloke has options. Lots of ‘em.
Rooney, 31, has 18 months left on his current contract at United and the transfer deadline for the 2017 Chinese Super League season is next Tuesday. That means if any reported deal to China happens -- Rooney could become the highest paid player in history with wages of $43.5 million a season, per reports -- it has to happen fast. However if a CSL team moves on one of their four allotted foreign players outside the window they are allowed to replace him.
The two favorites to sign Rooney in the CSL are Guangzhou Evergrande and Beijing Sinobo Guoan (the two most valuable clubs in China), with the former winning the CSL title six seasons on the spin and already having the likes of Jackson Martinez and Paulinho in their ranks and Luiz Felipe Scolari as their manager.
That said, the Daily Mail claims he has interest from Major League Soccer, plus Everton are reportedly interested in re-signing the boyhood Evertonian 13 years after they sold him to United. However, Rooney’s wage demands could be a stumbling block for the Toffees.
Is MLS a better option for Rooney than China? Financially, probably not.
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We’ve seen MLS’ model changing in recent season with the likes of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba all moving on this summer and clubs hankering to entice the next Sebastian Giovinco over from Europe instead. MLS’ shift towards attracting younger DPs from Europe by offering huge wages has been hampered by the rise of the Chinese Super League and its mammoth salaries which have enticed the likes of Oscar, Ramires, Hulk, Jackson Martinez and Graziano Pelle from Europe’s top leagues.
MLS will still be a very attractive option for Rooney and his family but with clubs like the LA Galaxy and New York Red Bulls changing their tact in recent times and opting to nurture Homegrown players over expensive veteran imports, Rooney’s options in MLS have all of a sudden become a lot more limited.
Maybe LAFC would offer him a chance to move to LA when they arrive in MLS in 2018? Orlando City SC has an open DP spot. And then there’s Atlanta United but they already have all three DP spots locked up. Also, New York City FC have one DP spot open but could a Manchester United legend really play for a club so heavily linked to Manchester City? Probs not.
Anyway, whatever Rooney ends up deciding to do in the coming weeks or in the summer he will have plenty of options. China and MLS seem like the best way for him to have one final payday and play regularly. No matter what he has achieved in his glittering career for club and country, Rooney is no longer guaranteed regular minutes at United and that would be the case at any other top six team in the Premier League.
The emergence of Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard at United mean he will be a bit-part player now and in the future. He spoke out last month about his frustration regarding that situation and the writing is on the wall for United’s all-time leading goalscorer as Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba continue to grab the spotlight at Old Trafford this season.
Rooney is entering the final acts of an imperious, somewhat elongated show at United. It’s obvious his future lies elsewhere, but where?